The same few kinds of rule turn up in cities across Europe and beyond, under different names. This page explains how this site uses each name, so a scheme page can be read without a glossary open beside it.
These are descriptions of the kinds, not of any one city. The rule that applies to you is the one on the scheme page, taken from the authority that runs it.
A low emission zone decides who may enter by how much a vehicle pollutes. The test is usually the emission class in the vehicle papers, and the rule often treats diesel more strictly than petrol. We use the label for any zone whose entry rule is an emission standard and which is not a zero emission zone.
We currently hold 96 schemes of this kind, in 14 countries. For example:
Some cities call a stricter low emission zone an ultra low emission zone. We use the label only where the authority uses it. It is still an entry rule based on emissions, and the scheme page gives the standard and the charge if there is one.
We currently hold 1 scheme of this kind, in 1 country. For example:
Zona a traffico limitato is the Italian name for a limited traffic zone. Entry is reserved for permitted vehicles, usually within set hours. The rules are set city by city, so the scheme page is the place to read who may enter and when.
We currently hold 89 schemes of this kind, in 22 countries. For example:
A congestion charge is a payment for driving into a defined area, normally by the day or by the entry. It does not ban a vehicle outright. Where the operator publishes an amount, the scheme page states it and names the operator.
We currently hold 6 schemes of this kind, in 5 countries. For example:
A number-plate ban stops you driving on certain days according to the last digit of your plate. It follows the plate, not the place you are in. Mexico City's Hoy No Circula is the example in our records.
We currently hold 3 schemes of this kind, in 3 countries. For example:
A heavy vehicle ban limits vehicles by weight, sometimes only at certain hours. Whether a car falls under it is stated on the scheme page, in the authority's words, because the answer depends on the scheme.
We currently hold 39 schemes of this kind, in 15 countries. For example:
A public transport lane is reserved for buses and, in some places, other permitted vehicles. We list one only where the authority publishes the rule for it.
We currently hold 1 scheme of this kind, in 1 country. For example:
A studded tyre charge is a payment for driving in a city on studded tyres. Bergen's piggdekkavgift is the example in our records.
We currently hold 3 schemes of this kind, in 1 country. For example:
Every scheme page opens with what the rule says, then gives the daily charge, the hours, the area, the standard for petrol and for diesel, the penalty and the steps to comply. Each figure carries the publisher and the date we read it.
Where a field is empty, the page says why. An empty field means we hold no figure from the source, not that the rule has none. When a source cannot be read again, the page comes down rather than staying up on an old reading.